


Caught

by KByrd



Category: Thor - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 11:49:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6564949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KByrd/pseuds/KByrd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A very brief ... um ... scene where nothing much happens except Thor does something stupid because he’s drunk and Loki gets ... um ... caught.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caught

Thor is drunk.

That’s his excuse anyways.

In the cold, hard light of day, he cannot explain or justify his nighttime decisions except to say “I was drunk.”

It’s the middle of the night.

Asgard is silent.

The servants are asleep; the birds are quiet. The palace itself seems to slumber.

Thor has bid farewell to his drinking partners and staggered home to prepare for bed, but for reasons lost in the logic of drunkenness, he decides he does not yet want to go to bed.

He wants to seek out Loki and pick his brains regarding the wisdom of their next adventure.

Loki is a night owl – he’s probably still awake.

Thor considers just walking down the hall to his brother’s room, but for reasons that he has since forgotten, he decides that he does not want to make any noise wandering through the corridors.

So he follows a path rarely used since he was young and goes out the balcony.

When he thinks of it later, he shudders to realize how dangerous his backdoor path is, but buoyed by alcohol and an over-abundance of confidence, he climbs over his balcony, balances along a railing and climbs, if not gracefully, at least safely, onto Loki’s balcony.

As usual, the wide double doors are open and the curtains billow gently in the breeze.

Thor steps into Loki’s suite and pauses to let his eyes adjust to the gloom.

He has magic – of course he does – although Loki scorns him for how little he uses it.

He uses his ‘seeking’ magic now, frowning and focusing on finding Loki’s aura and he is rewarded by the strong sense that Loki is here, and awake.

He blinks in the dark and picks a path through the mess that is Loki’s suite.

The brothers have rooms that are mirror images of each other – a living area with a fireplace and balcony, a large private bath and a bedroom. It would be easy to navigate except that Loki’s suite is littered with piles of books and scientific gadgets and unidentifiable domes … so Thor threads his way carefully.

He pauses at an unexpected sound.

In Asgard’s quiet night, every sound is magnified and Thor frowns listening to what sounds like someone moaning …

For a brief moment he wonders if someone is ill or injured.

And suddenly awareness pierces the fog of drunkenness as he realizes that what he hears is the sound of lovemaking.

He can hear a woman’s voice as she gasps and moans.

He can hear a man’s voice, Loki no doubt, murmur and sigh.

He can hear the rustle of sheets … a sharp cry from the woman … a masculine chuckle …

And Thor, drunk or not, realizes that he is making a huge mistake. Now all he wants is to escape, but as he steps backwards, his luck runs out and he trips over something and falls to the ground.

The sounds from the bedroom halt.

“Sorry!” Thor calls out and then mentally facepalms. He wishes he could vanish. Instead he scrambles to his feet.

Loki appears in the doorway of the bedroom, stark naked, but looking more puzzled than angry.

“Thor?”

“Sorry!” Thor babbles, averting his eyes. “Sorry! I was ... I don’t know … I just came to talk …”

Loki steps forward, puzzlement morphing to annoyance. “About what?”

“Nothing important,” Thor assures him owlishly. “I didn’t know you were … um …”

Loki scowls, “How did you get in here?”

“Balcony,” Thor points.

He’s very carefully NOT looking at Loki. Of course, he’s seen Loki naked many, many times before, but there’s a difference between skinny dipping with your brother or catching a quick glimpse when you’re changing and this scenario where Loki is all pale skin and dark hair, tousled and full frontal and … um.

Loki makes no attempt to cover up. He’s irritated. “What the hell?” he complains.

And Thor can only shrug and close his eyes and admit sadly that he is drunk. “Sorry, sorry,” he mutters. “I’ll just … I’ll go now …”

“Don’t go out the balcony,” Loki says sharply. “You’re an idiot.” He points at the door and a blast of magic causes the wards to fall.

Thor flees, stumbling over familiar boots on his way out.

 

**

Thor sleeps late and wakes with a pounding headache. The servants have left the drapes closed to keep out the worst of the bright sunlight and someone has left a hangover cure on his bedside table.

He showers and dresses and nibbles at breakfast.

He tries to get the image of Loki out of his mind, but even more so the shame of barging in on his brother in his own room. He cannot, for the life of himself, figure out why he thought his nighttime ramblings were a good idea.

He wonders who the woman was.

It’s none of his business of course.

It’s not as if he thought Loki was an innocent of course. He’s seen Loki dance at festivals and kiss girls and leave parties arm in arm with partners, but in general, Loki is astonishingly discrete.

After battles when Thor wants nothing more than a pretty girl to warm his bed and the other members of their little gang are flirting and pairing up to burn off the post-battle adrenaline, Loki is usually the one who stays reasonably sober. He’s the one who keeps watch and who fixes their problems.

Thor cannot remember any particular girl who has caught Loki’s eye.

He wonders idly if Loki would stoop to sleeping with a servant girl, but discounts that idea pretty quickly – Odin has been damn blunt about their princely responsibilities and his views on power dynamics.

Thor thinks of the boots that he stumbled over.

Sif has a pair just like them.

 

**

Most of the day goes by before he seeks Loki out.

He’d really rather not. He’d rather forget that it ever happened, but he’s not one to shirk.

He finds Loki in one of the gardens and waits until they are alone.

Loki eyes him balefully. “Recovered?” he asks, with a tilt to his head. He does not look amused.

Thor runs his fingers through his hair and makes a face. “Sort of, not really. Stupid to drink so much.”

Loki nods.

“Came to say ‘sorry’,” Thor blurts awkwardly. “Not that I remember all that much, but …”

“You don’t remember swinging through the air like a monkey to access my balcony?”

“Err …”

It occurs to Thor that he maybe should have waited another day – Loki tends to hold grudges and is slow to ‘get over’ slights.

“I … um …” he opens his palms in the universal gesture of peace.

Loki scowls. “Feel free to try it again,” he invites Thor with a rather grim look. “You’ll get what you deserve.”

Thor grins uncertainly. “You’ve warded it, huh? Yeah, good idea I guess. I won’t be doing that again …”

“No,” Loki says without a smile. “You won’t.” And he walks away.

 

**

It’s not over.

For days, Loki avoids Thor and the Warriors three.

For days, Thor keeps tripping over invisible trip wires and crunching down on unsavory items in his food. He knows full well that Loki is playing tricks, but no longer in good fun.

And he broods over the identity of Loki’s partner.

It’s none of his business. He knows that rationally, and yet …

He’s no longer entirely sure of what he remembers.

He goes for a chat with Hogun who is, by far, the quietest member of his merry band, but also the most observant.

“This is a private conversation,” Thor insists. “Nothing goes beyond this table.”

Hogun merely raises an eyebrow.

“Do you think Loki likes guys or girls?” Thor asks bluntly.

“Are you thinking of a birthday present?” Hogun says deadpan. “A book might be a better choice.”

Thor snorts. “No, I just …”

Hogun smiles faintly.

“I almost walked in on Loki and someone,” Thor confesses. “Doing … well, you know. Yeah. I never saw who it was and Loki’s pissed at me, but it got me thinking.”

Hogun frowns as if he’s about to ask something, but thinks better of it.

“It’s just, he’s always been so discrete, so careful, and rarely ever openly courts anyone …” Thor explains awkwardly.

Hogun snorts. “Not sure if that’s a reason to question his sexuality.”

“I wouldn’t MIND,” Thor insists. “It just never occurred to me before. And I’d hate to think that he thinks he needs to keep something like that a secret.”

Hogun looks amused.

“What do you think?” Thor asks, scrunching his nose up.

“From what I’ve seen, your baby brother is pretty comfortable with a wide variety of sexual partners and activities,” Hogun says idly. “I’m not sure you want to go pinning a label on him.”

“Seriously?”

Hogun nods. “Apparently so.”

Thor ponders.

And then he goes looking for Loki again. He makes a deliberate decision to leave his hammer and other weapons in the armory. He is unarmed and part of him thinks that if Loki wants to lash out, then maybe he deserves it.

He catches up with him in a deserted corridor that is just perfect for a private conversation.

Loki does not particularly want to talk. He stands with his arms crossed and glares.

Thor sighs. “Look, I know you’re mad at me,” he starts.

“It’s over,” Loki snaps.

“It was an egregious breach,” Thor admits.

“It was,” Loki agrees, “for which you’ve already apologized.”

“But I just wanted you to know,” Thor presses, “that you can tell me anything. I mean really ANYTHING.”

Loki scowls. “How about – respect my privacy?”

“Of course,” Thor assures him earnestly. “But …”

Loki’s eyes flash. “But nothing,” he snarls. “Stay out of my bloody room unless I invite you in.”

And still Thor keeps talking. “I just don’t want you thinking that you need to keep secrets,” he tries clumsily to explain.

Loki looks furious; Thor continues to babble, “… no shame to …”

And Loki blasts him with an energy burst that sends Thor crashing into the wall.

Thor gets up, roaring, but Loki kicks him and then they’re rolling around punching each other as they did when they were children.

“Stop!” a woman’s voice rings out.

Loki flips Thor onto his back and punches him so hard that he sees stars.

“What are you doing?” the woman yells again, grabbing at Loki’s shoulder.

He stands slowly, glowering at Thor who stays on the ground, dabbing at his bleeding lip.

It’s Sif who has broken up the fight and she looks furious.

“How OLD are you?” she hisses angrily. “To be brawling in the corridors like uncivilized barbarians?”

Loki scowls, but says nothing.

Sif looks from to the other. “What are you fighting about this time?” she asks.

Neither says anything.

After an uncomfortably long pause, she looks at Loki. “Is this about the other night …?” she asks carefully.

He flinches. “None of his bloody business,” he says.

“Are you embarrassed?” she asks him archly.

“No!”

Thor scowls, not quite understanding the subtext.

Sif glares at Thor. “Why do you need to know who Loki is courting?” she asks.

“I … ah … don’t NEED to know …” Thor defends himself.

Sif turns to Loki. “And why do you want to keep it such a secret?” she demands.

“None of his business,” he snaps through gritted teeth.

Sif throws her arms in the air.

And then she puts her hands on either side of Loki’s face and kisses him.

Thor can’t stop staring.

Loki’s hands flail for a moment and then he slides them around her back and kisses her back.

Sif breaks away panting slightly. “Secret’s out now,” she tells Loki. She glares at Thor, “make of it what you will.”

And then she stalks off down the corridor.

Thor just stares. He realizes that his mouth is hanging open and he closes it deliberately.

Loki dabs at his bleeding lip.

“So … uh … you and Sif, huh?” Thor mutters.

Loki scowls.

“It’s not ALL that surprising,” Thor insists gamely.

“Shut up,” Loki snaps.

 

**

Sif is in Loki’s room when he enters.

He pauses and scowls.

“I’m getting mighty tired of people just waltzing in here,” he grumbles.

She snorts.

He eyes her warily – she looks angry.

“Were you ever going to tell him?” she asks him coolly.

He scowls. “Wasn’t going to stay a secret forever,” he mutters.

“Not what I asked.”

“Does it matter now? You might as well have put up a big sign. Telling Thor …”

“It does,” Sif says calmly.

Loki glowers.

“Are you embarrassed about me?” she asks him.

“What? No!”

There’s a long, uncomfortable silence.

“I picked you, you know,” Sif says quietly.

“What?”

“Everyone keeps thinking that I pine after Thor,” she says patiently. “Even you I think.”

“No …”

“I love Thor,” she says quietly. “Like a brother. As my partner in battle. I have NO interest in him romantically and never had.”

“I know,” Loki grumbles.

“Do you?” she presses. “You’re jealous of him. Are you interested in me BECAUSE you think of me as belonging to him?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Or are you afraid that I’m settling for you because I can’t have Thor?”

“You’ve just admitted that you don’t want him,” Loki mumbles, looking mulish.

Sif cocks her head and looks at him carefully a frown upon her brow.

Loki sighs. “Sif …”

She waits.

“It’s complicated,” he says softly.

“I want truth from you,” she says. “None of your silvertongue manipulation. If this is just a fling, that’s fine. But don’t try telling me what you think I want to hear.”

He makes a face. “Truth? Talk about setting me up for failure.” 

Sif turns away with a small smile. “Drink maybe to make it easier?” She opens a cupboard and reaches for a bottle.

“That’s _my_ stash you’re going through.”

She pours him a drink and offers him the glass.

He takes the glass and sprawls in one of the large squishy armchairs; Sif perches on the couch.

“I’ve liked you forever,” he admits, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. “And yeah, I was pretty jealous because it looked like Thor could have you any time if he’d shown any interest. The whole thing with your hair …?

She pats her dark locks in amusement. “My mother used to tell me that when guys teased me, it was just because they secretly liked me,” she says.

Loki rolls his eyes. “By that logic, my crush list is VERY long.”

She sips at her own drink.

He fidgets. “Why are you … um … Why me?” He doesn’t look at her.

“Loki …” she sighs. “Quit comparing yourself to Thor.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re attractive, you’re smart, you’re always getting us out of trouble …”

“After getting you INTO trouble,” he smiles.

“You respect my choices,” she continues. “You respect me as a warrior.”

“Course I do,” he agrees. “You can skewer me like a pig on a spit.”

“Not all men would admit that,” she points out. She drains her own drink and then climbs into his lap, straddling him.

He fiddles idly with her hair. “I’ve watched you from afar for so long,” he says softly. “It’s a little hard for me to believe that you’re really here.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she promises.

He pulls her closer and kisses her.


End file.
